MATTHEW 19:10 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.”
The disciples said to him: if such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry. The disciples' response to the teaching on divorce communicates the radical character of Jesus' ruling: if the bond is that strong, if divorce-and-remarriage is adultery, marriage itself becomes very serious — perhaps too serious for some. The better not to marry conclusion is the disciples' hyperbolic response to the high bar of Jesus' teaching.
Church Fathers on Matthew 19:10
A wife is a grievous burden, if it is not permitted to put her away except for the cause of fornication. For what if she be a drunkard, an evil temper, or of evil habits, is she to be kept? The Apostles, perceiving this burdensomeness, express what they feel; 'His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.'
For it is a lighter thing to contend with himself, and his own lust, than with an evil woman.
And the Lord said not, It is good, but rather assented that it is not good. However, He considered the weakness of the flesh; 'But he said unto them, All cannot receive this saying;' that is, All are not able to do this.
Read all 12 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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